A case has been filed against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish in the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Muzaffarpur over the death of 243 people in hooch tragedies. The case was filed by advocate Sunil Kumar Singh. Apart from Nitish Kumar, Excise Commissioner Vinod Singh Gunjwal and excise superintendents of all districts are facing the charges of culpable homicide.
It is pertinent to mention, Bihar has indeed enforced a ban on alcohol since 2016. However, during this period, numerous cases have emerged where the consumption of toxic liquor has led to the deaths of hundreds of individuals.
Court approved the complaint
A complaint of culpable homicide has been filed by advocate Sushil Kumar Singh for the death of 243 people due to consumption of spurious liquor in Bihar. Singh has used government figures of deaths due to alcohol. This complaint has been filed under sections 304 and 120 (B) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint filed alleging culpable homicide has been accepted by the court. The next hearing for this case is scheduled for September 16, 2023.
Bihar government responsible for 243 deaths
The Bihar lawyer has stated that in response to an RTI query, he received information since the implementation of the liquor ban until August 2023, a total of 243 people in Bihar had died due to consuming spurious liquor. Holding the Bihar government responsible for these 243 deaths, lawyer Singh filed the case. He said, "Before 2016, when there was no ban on the sale of alcohol, the same Chief Minister was in power, who had opened liquor shops in every lane. The quota for alcohol was fixed. Shopkeepers who did not meet the quota had to pay taxes according to the quota."
'Suddenly the prohibition law was implemented'
He said, "In Bihar, without any awareness campaign for drug addiction, suddenly in the year 2016, the liquor ban law was implemented. Throughout Bihar, without any restrictions, both local and foreign liquor, including spurious liquor, were being sold, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people in Bihar and thousands becoming physically disabled. According to information obtained under the Right to Information Act 2005, the sale of spurious liquor continues."
(Reported by Sanjeev Kumar)
